


"Framed"

by TheRookBook



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Lucy tries to solve the case, Tim gets framed or does he??, chenford has been established and everyone knows it, many OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:07:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29637171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRookBook/pseuds/TheRookBook
Summary: A murder. No alibi and his DNA at the scene. Tim Bradford is in a mess. Lucy Chen with the help of the rest of Mid-Wilshire must defy the odds and bring their sergeant home. Or is there more to the story than what is being told?
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 28
Kudos: 72





	1. the setup

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I have been sitting on this idea for a while it feels like. Last night's episode caused some type of motivation to go into overdrive so here we are. This will be a short, three-chaptered fic. Thanks for reading!! Comments are appreciated!! Let me know what you think!! What do you think is going to happen?!?
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @therookiebook!  
> (not beta'd. but oh well.)

_“Sergeant Tim Bradford, you are under arrest…”_

Lucy could see lips moving from her position in the squad room, but she was unable to read the words that escaped them. Instead, she noticed how his posture stiffened. His jaw clenched and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying something he shouldn’t.

He reached down slowly and pulled the gold shield from his belt. Next, his hand shifted over to the department-issued handgun that rested on his side. Tim never took his eyes off of the former watch commander, now lieutenant, as he unholstered the weapon. With precision and skill, Tim released the clip from the weapon before clearing the empty weapon. Tim laid the weapon next to the gold shield of Grey’s desk before stepping back.

A man in a suit, probably a detective stepped forward. He took Tim’s arms in his hands pulling them behind his back before slipping the cold metal cuffs around his wrists.

“You have to stop ogling him like that, people are going to start asking questions,” Jackson teased slipping in beside her. “Wait, it’s he supposed to be on vacation? What’s going on,” he asked growing more concerned seeing Tim’s hands being cuffed behind him.

“I don’t know,” she uttered in reply as the office door open was pulled open. Tim’s eyes met her immediately. She could see the anger brewing in his eyes. His eyes never left hers as he was led towards booking.

“What the hell,” Jackson whispered aloud, voicing the thoughts of every officer in the room. Tim played with the line. He toed with doing the wrong thing, but at the end of the day, Tim Bradford was always on the right side of the law. He was one of the good guys.

Lucy started towards the booking area following Tim and the detective. She needed to get answers, and she needed them now. She had barely taken two steps when her name was called from across the room. Ignoring it, Lucy focused on Tim’s back before it disappeared behind the metal door.

“Officer Chen,” Grey yelled causing her to stop on the path to booking. Lucy turned towards the lieutenant slowly. “My office. Now.” Silence fell over the precinct. A pen could have dropped in the garage and everyone would have flinched because of the unexpected loudness of the noise.

Lucy looked over her shoulder at Tim through the windows of the booking area. His face had fallen neutral as he stood in front of the whiteboard for his photo. Lucy took one last long look at him before turning back towards Grey’s office where he and Angela were waiting for her at the door.

Her steps were calculated as she crossed the floor towards the office. Angela stepped aside, letting Lucy walk in before following her in. “Get back to work,” Grey ordered the stunned officers, who were still trying to process what just happened. “Now,” he added gruffly.

The squad room filled with noise once again. Officers returned to their jobs all while asking if the other knew what was going on. Grey shut the door to the office cutting the outside noise off immediately.

“What the hell is going on,” Lucy asked confused, as her eyes bouncing between Lopez and Grey. Both held an unusual look of sadness and pity in their eyes as they looked back at her. “For the love of God, please tell me what just happened.”

\--

“Murder,” Lucy shrieked interrupting Angela. Her frantic eyes bounced between the new detective and the lieutenant. “You two actually believe that Tim killed someone,” she asked astounded that she even had to ask the question in the first place.

“DNA at the scene points directly to him,” Angela added briefly.

Lucy’s scoff filled the small office. “C’mon, guys it's Tim. He’s the poster boy of the LAPD. He plays with the line, but he’s always on the right side of the law. He loves this job too much to jeopardize it. There has to be an explanation.”

“Were you with Tim the night of the nineteenth?”

Lucy paused trying to wrack her brain back to just a few nights ago. “No,” she admitted softly, her head shaking slowly. They had plans to go get dinner, but halfway through the shift, Tim texted her saying something came up and he was not going to be able to make it. “No, we were supposed to, but he said something came up. I was in my apartment with Jackson all night.”

Angela nodded shortly. Her eyes flick over at Grey before she looked back to Lucy. “Okay. That’s all I needed to know. We’ll figure this out,” she encouraged, her hand coming to rest of Lucy’s shoulder as she walked out of the office.

Lucy stayed there in the office unable to move her feet. She could feel Grey’s eyes on her as she tried to process everything. There was no way this was legit. It had to be a prank or some type of Tim test to see if she would lie for him, right? It had to be. She had been done with Tim's test for two years, but maybe he thought she got rusty and wanted to throw her through the wringer just one more time. He was going to come back through that door any minute, all smiley and cocky, but he didn’t. He wasn’t going to.

“Can I see him,” Lucy asked softly, her eyes meeting Grey’s.

The lieutenant started to shake his head in refusal. His mouth opened, but the words got caught on the tip of his tongue as he looked at her. Maybe it was the sheer concern that she held in her eyes that changed his mind or maybe even he wanted to know more that changed his mind. He nodded carefully looking at the young patrol officer in front of him. “Ten minutes is all I can give you,” he said briefly.

“Yes sir. Thank you,” she said quickly. Her body was on autopilot as she stepped out of the office, the eyes of every officer landed on her instantly. She was halfway across the room when Jackson walked up to her quickly.

“Lucy, what’s going on,” he asked as he walked with her to the booking door.

Lucy looked up at her friend uncertainty pooled in her eyes. “I don’t know,” she replied barely above a whisper, pulling the metal door open and disappearing inside the area leaving a stunned Jackson behind her.

The booking officer noticed her immediately when Lucy stepped into the area. The woman simply gestured her head towards the last holding cell. Lucy gave the woman a soft smile in return as she started forwards.

She stood outside the holding cell for a long minute just watching him. Tim was sitting on the concrete bench, his elbows digging into his thighs as his hands held his head. The picture before her was not that of a man who was ready to fight, instead, it looked like a man that seemed trapped with nowhere to go. Had he already given up? The Tim she knows would be angry, he would be pacing the small cell watching everyone on the outside as he tried to figure out his next move. This Tim…this was not her Tim.

It broke her heart watching him. He was a good guy. He was one of the good guys that swore to never betray the badge, none of this made any sense. He was supposed to be putting criminals and crooks behind bars, not joining them. He was the hero in the story, not the villain.

Lucy looked over her shoulder to ask for the door to be open when it buzzed before she could ask. Again, Lucy offered the woman behind the desk a soft smile before she pulled the door open and slipped inside. Tim never looked up at her as she stood in front of him inside the cell. Slowly, she crossed the tiny cell to sit beside him on the concrete bench. Again, he did not acknowledge her.

Only when Lucy pressed her leg against his did he lift his head to look at her. Her heart broke even more. “What happened,” she asked softly as she stared into his blue eyes trying to find an answer.

“I don’t know,” he answered hoarsely after a minute.

“We’re going to figure this out. I know you didn’t do this. There has to be an explanation.”

Tim swallowed heavily looking away from her. “What if we don’t?”

“Don’t think like that.”

“They have my DNA, Lucy,” he said somberly. That was going to be the hardest thing to argue. “Video of me walking out of that alley. The nail is pretty much in the coffin, Luce,” he said dejectedly looking away from her.

“Don’t talk like that,” she scolded. “You didn’t do this. I know you didn’t do it. We are going to figure this out. Okay? No matter what, I still believe in you.”

Tim did not reply as Lucy leaned into him. His arm slipped around his pulling Lucy farther into him. He savored this moment, her pressed up against him and the heat that radiated from her body. The smell of her conditioner wafted up his nostrils as he pressed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He took a mental image of her in his arms because he didn’t know when he would get to hold her again.

They sat there for well over the allotted ten minutes. Tim’s arm wrapped around her; her head laid on his shoulder underneath his chin. If this was going to the last time they held each other, they were not going to let go until Grey himself forced Lucy out of his arms.

A few minutes later, the holding cell door finally buzzed open again, yet neither of them moved. Someone cleared their throat from the door causing them to slowly break apart. Tears welled up in her eyes as she eased out of his arms. This was it. Her eyes flickered to the cell door expecting to see Grey but was surprised to see a man wearing a grey suit standing in the doorway. “Wesley,” she asked in disbelief as her eyes took in the lawyer. “What are you doing here?”

“Visiting my client, Officer Chen,” he answered with ease.

Tim shook his head confused. “I didn’t call anyone.”

“I did,” Angela said sliding into the space bedside Wesley and the door. They were going to figure this out. They had to.


	2. the start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not beta'd.  
> :-)
> 
> (if you like my smiley face, you have to comment. It's a rule.) :)

“No bail,” Lucy screeched, coming to a halt in Angela and Wesley’s living room. She had been pacing the large living room for the last hour waiting for Wesley to get back from the bail hearing. When he had finally walked in the house, the beaten and discouraged look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

“Oh my,” she gasped turning towards the couple sitting on the couch. The meaning of no bail finally hitting her like a truck full of bricks. “They are going to send him to county,” she said barely above a whisper. She never knew how he felt that day she was taken until now. He was in there alone and there was nothing she could do to help him. “If they find out he’s a cop,” she stopped herself from finishing the sentence, afraid to speak even the thought of that into existence.

“I’ve already filed an appeal with a different judge,” Wesley encouraged speaking up. “Judge Reaves does not take kindly to cops that are accused of crimes and she took that out on Tim. We’re doing everything we can to get him out and we will,” he continued trying to keep her spirits up.

“What if we don’t,” she asked echoing Tim’s own question from just a few days before. “What if something happens to him in there before we can get him out,” she asked the two other occupants in the room who sat in eerie silence.

Fussing over the baby monitor broke the silence of the room. Wesley’s hand rubbed Angela’s thigh slowly. “I’ll go check on him,” he told his wife softly. “Calm her down,” he said standing up from the couch and heading down the hallway.

“I know you’re scared Lucy, but Tim can take care of himself. He won’t let anyone mess with him in there. We’ll get him out,” Angela said leaning forward on the couch. “He’s going to be okay.”

Lucy shook her head in response. She knew that Tim could take care of himself. She knew that he would stand up for himself. It was the fear of his work getting out that terrified her. Tim was a cop. Tim helped put several people behind bars, now he was in there with them with no help. “If word gets out that he’s a cop,” she started then stopped, her voice fading from the thoughts alone. “They’ll kill him,” she added in a whisper.

“We won’t let that happen,” Angela told her confidently. “Wesley will do everything he can to get him out. It might take a few days, but he will be okay.”

“Say hey to Aunt Lucy,” Wesley cooed to the toddler in his arms as he reappeared in the living room.

Lucy masked the despair on her face with a smile in an instant as the toddler came into view. “Hey little man,” she said softly. “Did you have a good nap?”

The toddler only responded by burying his face into Wesley’s shoulder causing the adults to laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Wesley said with a chuckle. “Someone is just like his mommy when he wakes up from naps,” he teased Angela as she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I think someone needs a change.”

Wesley disappeared back down the hallway taking the toddler towards the nursery to change his diaper. Lucy watched them disappear, her smile falling from her face as she turned back towards Angela. “When can I see Tim?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

It had been nearly a week since Lucy was forced to leave Tim in the holding cell before she was able to see him again. She had been granted a thirty-minute window to see him. She knew it would not be enough, but it was something. She just needed to make sure that he was okay.

The last week she had been working non-stop. She was following up every lead, every angle that could possibly clear his name, but every time it was a dead end. Multiple times she had accidentally fallen asleep on the desk, the case files below her head offering no comfort. Still, after hours of checking even the smallest of details, she had made zero progress. He was still in jail where anything could happen.

Lucy sat down in a plastic chair in front of one of the windows for visitation. She was the only person in the large room except for the guard that stood at the door. She assumed that Angela had called in a favor to give them some privacy.

Angela wanted to clear his name as much as Lucy, but it was starting to feel like they were fighting a losing battle. None of their ideas or theories seemed to pan out leaving them back at square one which meant more time that Tim spent behind bars. It had only been a week and Lucy was exhausted, but she was not going to give up until he was back beside her. Until he was out here enjoying life with her.

She caught the door on the other side of the plastic barrier opening in her peripheral vision which broke Lucy out of her thoughts. Tim stepped through the opening causing Lucy to sit straight immediately. She took in the dark blue scrubs that he wore all the way down to the white socks and black slides that were on his feet.

The guard behind him undid the cuffs around his wrists before stepping into the corner of the room. Tim rubbed his wrists as he slowly made his way towards the seat across from her to pull it out. Their eyes met as they stared at each other through the plastic barrier.

Tim was the first to look away, his hand reaching for the phone hanging on the sidewall bringing it to his ear. Lucy just sat there for a minute longer letting herself take in every small detail of his face new and old. His stubble was slowly starting to come in on his jaw. The bags under his eyes were heavy telling her that he had not been sleeping either. A dark purple bruise on his cheek and eye popped against his skin.

Swallowing to wet her dry throat, Lucy reached for the phone hanging on her side of the barrier. She could hear his breaths in her ear as they two stared at each other again. “How have you been,” she asks breaking the silence first.

“Fine.”

Lucy had to bite the inside of her cheek at his shortness. She knew she should have expected this. She was used to his shortness by now. Most of the time it didn’t affect her, but this time it did. “What happened?”

A tiny smirk pulled at his lips as he laughed breathlessly in her ear. “Got in a fight. You should see the other guys,” he said softly. Lucy stared at him unimpressed before he looked away and rolled his eyes. “Some punks thought they could jump me so I had to show everyone they couldn’t. Let everyone in the block know that they can’t mess with me without a fight,” he explained.

“You need to be careful. If word gets out,” she paused looking around making sure that no one had snuck into the room. “If they find out you’re a cop, they’ll hurt you,” she said in a rushed whisper.

“I’m fine,” he said, a bit of his TO tone seeping into his voice. “I promise, Luce. I’m fine. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Of course, I’m going to worried, Tim! Until you are out of here, I am going to be worried.”

“Wesley didn’t tell you?”

“Wesley didn’t tell me what,” she asked unable to hide her confusion.

It was Tim’s turn to swallow as he looked down away from her. The silence only adding to her confusion until he looked back up at her. “I’m not getting out Lucy,” he said finally.

“What,” she asked in disbelief after letting his words fully wash over her.

Tim shook his head slowly. “We lost the appeal this morning. I’m not getting out.” Her mouth hung open in disbelief as she tried to process the meaning of his words. This was not happening. This was not how things were supposed to go. There was no plan for this. “I’m sorry, Luce. I figured he would have told you.”

“That’s not…that’s not fair,” she said softly, her voice broken. “You…you’ve never done anything like this. You’re a good guy.”

“A murder charge trumps all of that Luce.”

“But you didn’t kill anyone,” she said quickly into the phone and Tim looked away from her. “Did you? Did you kill him,” she asked, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

Tim gave his head a little shake. “No,” he answered shortly. “I didn’t kill him. I don’t know Lucy. I don’t know how it all happened, but I’m in here, and…I’m not getting out. It could months or even years until a trial even starts. There’s nothing else we can, Lucy except wait. The truth will come out eventually.”

“So, you’re giving up?”

Again, Tim shook his head. “No. I’m just accepting reality for now. You need to too. I can’t have you stressing and killing yourself at work over this. I’m going to be okay, just don’t worry about me so much.”

“Tim..”

“Time’s up Bradford,” the guard called from the door. 

Tim nodded towards the guard before looking back at Lucy. “Don’t come back, Lucy.”

“What?”

“Don’t come back,” he repeated softly, she could see his own tears starting to pool in his eyes. Her heart-shattering at his words. “If I’m going to be stuck in here, I want you to live your life like you never met me. You deserve better than me anyway, somehow, I just got lucky you chose me. Please don’t come back. I can’t ask you to wait and I won’t,” he finished swallowing back his emotions as tears escaped her eyes. “I love you,” he added, a sad smile on his face as he looked at her. “Never forget that.”

Tim hung the phone softly before standing to his feet. He looked down at her one last time before turning the guard. The man in the tan uniform slipped the cuffs back on his wrists as Tim looked down at the ground until he felt a tug on his arm leading him out of the area and back towards the cell block.

Lucy sat in the chair; the phone still pressed against her ear long after he had been led away. Numbness tingled throughout her body as she processed his words unable to make herself move. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she made no effort to wipe them away. Her heart crumbled to pieces at his words. Her fragile world shattering like glass when a ball is thrown through it.

Slowly, she hung the phone up before standing up herself. Tears still flowed heavily down her cheeks as she walked past the guards and out of the men’s central county jail. She didn’t care who saw, her heart was broken, her world was in pieces.

Angela sat in the back of the parking lot watching a crying Lucy cross the parking lot. She could see the tears falling from the younger woman’s eyes as she climbed into her own car and she felt a heavy tug deep in her soul. Angela watched as she pulled out of the parking lot before she refocused on the concrete building in front of her. She knew what he was doing by driving Lucy away. He wanted to be focused and not distracted, she just hoped that he was able to recover everything he just lost when this was all over.

\--

Tim’s back pressed against the block wall, his hands cuffed behind him and his head tilted back. He drew in a deep breath before exhaling shakily. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheeks as he tried to suppress his emotions. “You okay,” the guard asked, his hand coming to rest on Tim’s shoulder gently.

He had to keep her away. If he didn’t his judgment would get clouded. He needed to keep her away for her safety and his. He wanted to see her every day. He wanted to hear her voice, hear her stories, but he had a job to do.

Tim nodded, storing his feelings in a compartment deep inside. “Yeah,” he said peeking over the brown-haired man beside him. “Sorry,” he said pushing himself off the wall after a moment standing straight.

The guard took hold of his arm again guiding Tim back through the corridors towards the cell block. When they arrived at the door, the younger man undid the cuffs around his wrists and unlocked the door so that Tim could step inside. His eyes scanned the entire block as he made his way back up the stairs to the pod that had been assigned to him.

The other inmates hardly paid him any attention. A few turned their eyes on him but refocused on their card game after realizing it was Tim and not some fresh meat for them to pick on. His eyes lingered on the two young men that were crowded around a vent in the wall that let them talk to the occupants in the other block.

“So, who was it,” a burly older man with a long white beard asked as Tim approached the pod.

“Just the lawyer Art,” Tim replied stopping beside the man who was leaned against the railing on the catwalk. The two had made allies quickly. Art was able to smooth talk one of his former pod mates to switch bunks so that Tim could reside upstairs instead with him instead of downstairs. Art was quick to notice Tim’s military ways. Art had spent years in Vietnam himself before returning home.

“Ah, them pesky lawyers. Always dragging their feet and running up the bill,” he said with a smile. “I figured it was your girl.”

“Nah, I don’t think she’ll come around here,” he said offered a forced grin. “I messed that up way before I got here. What’s happening down there,” he asked trying to distract Art and his thoughts from Lucy.

“Word is their notorious leader got picked up on some possession charge. Some type of three strikes and you’re out thing. Apparently, he’s marked someone in here as his next project before they send him upstate.”

Tim hummed beside him, his eyes shifting from the young gang bangers to the rest of the crowd. “When will that be?”

Art shrugged in response. “Could be days, could be weeks, months even. Depends on when the county stops dragging their feet. In the meantime, keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself,” he advised never looking at Tim.

“Thanks,” Tim said, his eyes shifting back over to the men crowded around the vent that tried to jump him a few days ago.

\--

The next few weeks passed cruelly and slowly. Lucy had done what he asked and didn’t come back to visit. Wesley would stop by every few days to give him an update on the progress they were making, but Tim didn’t care about that. His only questions pertained to Lucy. He knew she was hurting, and he knew he would be lying if he said he wasn’t.

When money hit his commissary account, the first thing he did was put in a request to get his hair cut and beard growing beard shoved. Art had whistled at him playfully when he stepped back inside the block, his hair short, neat, and clean-shaven.

So far activity in the jail had been minimum, but he knew that a storm was brewing. Maybe it was a gut feeling or years of experience, but Tim knew something was about to go down. It was inevitable.

He still was not sleeping enough. At night, he would lay awake in his cot his mind filled with thoughts of Lucy. He had been tempted to call her a few times. The last number of her phone number had been under his fingertip, but he couldn’t bring himself to press the button. He had already hurt her enough, why add more to the pain?

Art had noticed that his pod mate was not sleeping quickly. The bags grew more under his bloodshot eyes each passing night. He offered to stand guard at the door for a few hours during the day while Tim caught some actual sleep. He knew Art wouldn’t let anything happen to him while he was asleep, so he accepted the offer quickly. He trusted the man more than his own father.

It was the blare of the alarm that caused Tim to stir from his slumber. He rolled onto his back away from the wall. It had to be around midday. Typically, after breakfast Art would guard the door while Tim slept, and Tim would repay him by giving him a large portion of his commissary snacks. He hardly ate in here anyway so might as well let someone have it.

“What is it,” he asked, his voice still laced heavily with sleep.

“Some of the boys over in C block started a fire or something. It’ll be under control in a few minutes. Nothing to worry about son, just pull a pillow over your ears and get some rest.”

Tim did as the older man suggested. He moved the pillow that he hugged in his arms to replace Lucy and pulled it over his ears trying to block out the noise. He had grown used to having her pressed up against him as he slept. Maybe that’s why he had such a hard time sleeping? He was missing her, missing her warmth and comfort that lured him asleep.

With a defeated sigh, Tim let the pillow go around his head a few minutes later as the alarm continued to blare. “A few minutes huh,” he asked as he sat up on the bottom bunk careful not to whack his head against the bed above him.

“Never went on this long. It’s a slow day,” Art replied with a chuckle.

Tim pushed himself off his bunk, slipping the dark blue scrub top over his torso as he did so. His feet slid into his slides before he padded across the pod to join Art at the door. Oh, how he longed for his favorite Dodgers shirt and to be looking at his back yard as Cujo ran around with his tongue hung out with his arms wrapped around Lucy instead of the common area of B block. Soon he told himself…soon.

His eyes quickly found the huddle of young men crowded around the vent talking quickly into the vent trying to figure out what was going on. Everyone else in the block went about their day as they usually would. Card games were being played at a few tables. Others lounged in front of the TV their eyes locked on the episode of family feud. Others stood off to themselves trying their best to talk over the alarm.

When the buzzer sounded and the block door slid opened, followed by all the closed pod doors opening, everyone turned their attention to the door waiting for the special response team to storm in the block, but none came. No tear gas, no smoke, nothing. “It’s a riot,” Tim said to himself barely loud enough for Art to hear.

“What did you say,” Art yelled over the alarm leaning towards him.

“It’s a riot,” Tim repeated louder just before inmates from C block ran into the block encouraging the others to get involved and to take control of the floor. A few of the prisoners took off in a dead sprint after the others as if they would eventually get out of the building.

Tim started out of the pod when Art grabbed his arm causing Tim to look back at him. “You’re just going to add more time to your sentence,” Art warned him. “It’s not worth it.”

Tim shook the hand off his arm. “Give me ten minutes, I’ll be back,” he said before disappearing down the stairs towards the main floor. He made his way to the guard station door and tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge. “Great,” he huffed to himself. He looked back over his shoulder at Art perched against the metal railing watching him like a hawk. Tim gave him a small nod before disappearing out of the block and down the hallway.


	3. the conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little disclaimer, I'm not entirely sure what the LASD jail looks like on the inside so I googled some pictures and made it how I wanted it to. Also, I've never been to jail so yeah some things may be drastic and unfathomable, but it's fiction. Pure fiction.
> 
> Anyhoo, thanks for reading! I had been thinking of writing something like this for a while now. I thought it was a fun idea so here we are. Thanks again for reading!! Comments are appreciated! Did it end how you wanted it? Let me know of any questions you have! 
> 
> still not beta'd, but oh well.

Tim tried every door along the corridor getting the same result with everyone, locked, the handle not budging under his hand. He needed to find a radio or a cellphone, anything that would let him get a message out. That way he could call out Angela or Grey. He would be their eyes on the inside while they worked to get him out. Multiple times he had to slip into dark crevices to stay out of sight as inmates ran around the floor in search of an escape, but the facility had already been shut down since the alarm first started.

Peaking his head out of his latest hiding spot, Tim scanned the hallway making sure it was clear of inmates and guards that would make his journey even more difficult. Seeing nothing but an empty hallway once again, Tim slipped out of the darkness and towards the guard station at the end of the hall.

“Hands in the air, inmate. Now,” a voice called behind him. Tim’s hands raised as he turned towards the voice. The guard, a man just a few years older than himself, approached him slowly being sure to keep a distance between them. “On the ground,” the man ordered.

“My name is Tim Bradford. I’m a sergeant with the LAPD, badge number 34831,” he explained. An amused look crossed the guard's face. “Run it through your command if you don’t believe me. I need a radio or a cellphone. I need to get in touch with my lieutenant.”

The guard’s laughter filled the corridor. “Nice try ‘sergeant’ Bradford,” he mocked. “Wouldn’t be the first time I heard an inmate say something ridiculous, but I think you take the cake. Get on the ground inmate. Hands interlaced behind your head.”

Tim shook his head in response. He didn’t have time to deal with a guard who was trying to play the hero. It would be best for both of them if they got out of the hallway as quickly as possible without drawing attention on themselves. “I’m undercover,” he said loudly. “Listen, I’m a cop and I need to make a call.” 

The guard’s eyes narrowed on him as his hand reached for the taser on his belt. “I said get on the ground inmate,” the guard growled.

Slowly, Tim lowered himself to his knees as the guard pointed the taser his way. He interlaced his hands behind his head as the guard approached. “You’re making a mistake,” he warned as the guard got closer.

“Keeping an inmate in custody, I’d say I’m doing my job,” the man said walking behind him. The guard's hand grabbed his wrist just as a loud bang echoed through the corridor and the guard fell unconscious on the floor beside him. 

Tim scrambled off the floor and jerked around to see Art holding a metal chair down at his side. “So you’re the cop,” Art asked and Tim could hear the betrayal in his voice.

“Art,” he huffed breathlessly. “It’s not what you think. This was not a part of the plan.”

Squatting down, Art unclipped the guard’s keys before rifling through the unconscious man’s pockets for his cellphone. He tossed the phone towards Tim, who barely caught it after it bounced off his chest. “Make your call. I’ll put him somewhere safe,” he told Tim before taking ahold of the guard’s arms and dragging him to a supply closet across the hall.

Tim dialed Angela’s number from memory before pressing the phone to his ear. “Angela,” he said as soon as she picked the line up. “We have a problem. They’ve started a riot.”

“Are you okay,” she asked, the assignment going to be back of her mind.

“I’m fine. How long until SORT gets ready to breach?”

“I don’t know. I’m not on scene yet. I’m almost there. Have you found anything out yet?”

“No, I haven’t seen Marcus yet. They must have put him in a different block.”

“Damn it. Find him and keep him safe, Tim. He’s the only shot we have at keeping this trial alive.”

“I know. Have you heard from Lucy,” he asked into the phone. A long silence followed his question.

“She’s on her way, that’s all I know. She doesn’t know anything yet. Tim, I’m pulling in. Keep this phone on you,” Angela instructed him as Art closed the supply closet closing the unconscious guard in. “And Tim…stay safe.”

Tim pulled the phone away from his ear as the call ended. He let out a sigh turning to face Art as he walked back up to him. “Now that you’ve put both of our lives in danger, what’s your plan?”

“I need your help to find someone. His name is Marcus Sweeny and someone is trying to kill him,” Tim explained briefly.

\--

“Attention all available units,” dispatch’s voice broke across the radio interrupted Jackson and Lucy’s quiet drive through the city. “All available units, be advised, assistance is needed at LA County Men’s Central Jail. Reports of a riot are being confirmed by LASD. All available units please respond.”

Lucy’s hand was reaching for the radio before Jackson had a chance to fully process the words coming from dispatch. “Dispatch, 7-Adam-18, show us responding to the central jail,” Lucy said quickly into the mic before anyone else had a chance to respond to the call. Jackson flipped the lights and sirens on as his right foot went to the floor with the gas pedal. 

“He’s going to be okay,” Jackson reassured, glancing her way quickly as the shop flew through the street headed towards the jail.

“I know,” she said shortly looking at her friend before refocusing out the windshield. She knew he was going to be okay. He had to be okay. Still, it offered no comfort that he was in there in the first place for a crime he didn’t even commit.

She had to believe that he was going to be okay. Lucy could not let herself consider the thought that he would not walk out of that jail. They had talked about their plans, their future, several times. It just never seemed to be the right time to take the next step.

Then his words when he told her not to visit the jail again created a dark place for her doubts to fester and thrive. No matter how much Tim wanted her to believe him that day, something deep inside buried under her crumbled heart, Lucy knew he was lying. When he said he didn’t deserve her, Lucy could see that he truly believed his own words in his watery eyes.

_I can’t ask you to wait and I won’t._ He had already waited for her. He waited for her to be ready before he even considered asking her on that first date. He waited until she was ready. After Caleb, after the breakup with Emmett, Tim had waited. She would wait for him, how could she not?

_I love you. Never forget that._ Those two sentences had kept Lucy up several nights afterward. Makeup stains were left behind on the pillow thanks to the tears that flowed from her eyes. Cujo would whine as he tried to get as close as possible to offer just a little bit of comfort, but the hole in her heart was just too big for the pup to fix.

Lucy had to wipe away the tears that started to rose to the surface when she went back to that day nearly a month ago now. A month since she had seen his face, heard his voice, and even longer since she had been in his arms. Lucy closed her eyes forcing the thoughts to the back of her mind. She had to focus. Tim needed her to focus on the situation in front of her.

Jackson put the shop in park as they pulled in behind Grey, who was sliding out of his own car. He pulled his eyes off the lieutenant whose eyes were focused on Lucy beside him. Jackson looked over at Lucy and his jaw clenched. “You okay,” he asked softly breaking Lucy out of her trance.

Lucy looked over at him slowly. He could see that she was trying to be strong, that she was trying to keep her emotions hidden, but they both knew that Tim Bradford meant more than everyone else. In a way it was ironic, the man that seemed to torture her for her whole first year on the job ended up being the one she went home to every night. There was something between them since that very first day, special or not and everyone knew it. Over time it only grew and got deeper until the two were nearly inseparable.

“Yeah,” she replied softly. Her eyes now dry, but Jackson could see the worry still embedded deep inside. “Come on, we need to go,” Lucy said pushing the passenger side door open stepping into the warm LA sun.

The pair walked swiftly to the command setup where Grey was getting briefed by the LASD sheriff. “A group of inmates from C block started a small fire and when guards went in to extinguish the flames, they were jumped. From monitoring the security cameras before they were broken on the floor, blocks B, C, and D had been breached. Injuries and hostages unknown,” the sheriff briefed trying to get all the information out quickly. “We haven’t had any communication with your sergeant either,” the man added looking up at Grey.

“Tim called me.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted to the detective quickly. “And you just thought about sharing that information now,” the sheriff snapped.

Angela’s eyes narrowed on the older man before her. “If your deputies would have done as the LAPD requested and not put Marcus Sweeney in gen pop, we would not be in the situation right now,” she snapped back quickly.

“There was no reason to keep Mr. Sweeney in the restrictive housing unit—”

“He’s the witness to a murder with a threat against his life,” Angela retorted interrupting the sheriff. “If that’s not a good enough reason then maybe you shouldn’t be in the position to make those decisions.”

The sheriff stepped forward, his mouth open about to bite back when Grey intervened. “Detective Evers that’s enough and sheriff, I have to agree with my detective. Not only did you put the life of a critical trial witness in danger, but also that of one of my sergeants as well as all the other inmates, guards, and officers about to breach this building,” he said standing tall unafraid to voice his opinion to the older man. “How long until SORT is ready to breach,” he asked as the sheriff still eyed Angela before focusing on him.

“A few minutes.”

“Okay. Officer West, you will be assisting the SOR team. Chen, you and Evers will be here with me.”

Jackson nodded his head and briskly made his way over to where the rescue team was standing to join their briefing and get his gear on. “Sir, I should go in there with West,” Lucy spoke up finally.

“No, Officer Chen. You have a personal connection to the situation—”

“No offense sir, but we all have a personal connection to the situation,” she interrupted.

Grey’s eyes narrowed on her. “Lucy,” the lieutenant snapped at her outburst. “No. Angela and I need to bring you in fully on why Tim is in there in the first place.”

\--

“If this guy you are looking for was not in B or C block, he has to be in D block. Right,” Art asked as the pair slipped through the hallways.

“Yeah. I hope so,” Tim answered shortly. His eyes scanning everything in front of them watching for anyone to come into his vision. He held the taser securely in his hands now, the end of the taser held out in front of him ready to fire. Art had decided to carry the chair as an extra layer of protection in case the taser failed. 

They reached D block to find the common space empty. The lights to the block had been turned off, but the natural light from the windows above gave them enough sunlight to see. “Looks like everyone left town,” Art whispered as they stepped into the block.

“I’m going to the pods upstairs, you check down here. Yell if you see anything or anyone,” Tim instructed the older man making his way over to the stairs. “And Art, thanks.”

The gray-headed man nodded curtly. “Not a problem, son.”

Tim offered the man a small grin before turning his attention to the stairs. He cleared the pods upstairs quickly. Years of experience made it easy for him. Still, there was no sign of his target. “Shit,” he muttered to himself after he cleared the last upstairs mod stepping back onto the catwalk. Sweeney could be anywhere on the floor or he could be lying dead somewhere already.

“Tim,” Art yelled, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty cell block.

“Yeah?”

Tim could hear a small argument breaking out downstairs as he made his way down the stairs. “Please. Please. No, don’t tell them I’m here. Please, oh please,” he heard a scared voice beg as he got closer to the last pod of the bottom floor. “Oh God,” the guy cried when Tim stepped into the pod, his knees drawing up tighter to his chest as if he was trying to make himself disappear before Tim’s eyes.

“Marcus Sweeney,” Tim asked walking closer to the crying man. The scared man slowly looked up from behind his knees at Tim. His head nodded shakily as he tried to control his sniffles. “Marcus, my name is Tim Bradford. I’m a cop. Okay? I’m here to keep you safe.”

“A cop,” Marcus asked in disbelief as Tim nodded his head. “H-How?”

“It’s a long story. Art, watch the door. I need to make a call.”

\--

“Undercover,” Lucy asked in disbelief interrupting Grey and Angela as they started to explain. “Tim hates undercover work. Despises it actually. Why would he volunteer for undercover work?”

“He didn’t volunteer. The chief handpicked Tim for the assignment,” Grey answered quickly. “He couldn’t just turn the assignment down.”

“Of course, he could have,” Lucy rebutted quickly.

“Lucy—”

Lucy shook her head. “If he was going undercover, why go through all of this? Why arrest him the way you did? Why not just plant him inside the jail for the start?”

“We had to sell the story we were giving everyone. We needed you to come across as the concerned and worried girlfriend,” Angela started to explain.

“So, you used me?”

Angela looked down at the ground. “Yes,” she said raising her eyes back to Lucy, “but we did it to protect Tim. Tim agreed to do things this way. If you’re going to be mad at someone don’t be mad at him, be mad at us.”

“You could have just told me.”

“Officer Chen,” Grey said, addressing her formally. “Our hands were tied behind our backs from the start. We can’t change what we had to do; all we can do is ask for forgiveness. Right now, we need to focus on making sure that Tim and our witness get out of jail. If you don’t think you can focus on that, then go wait in the shop.”

“Yes sir,” Lucy said biting back all the other things she wanted to say.

“Good,” he said just before Angela’s phone started to ring in her pocket.

“It’s Tim,” she said recognizing the number from earlier quickly. “Tim? What’s going on,” she asked into the phone pressed against her ear. “You found him? Is he alive?” She stayed quiet for a moment listening intently to whatever Tim was saying on the other end of the line. “Where are you? Yes, she’s right here. Stay where you are, SORT is coming in. It’s almost over,” she said ending the phone call and sliding the phone back into her pocket.

She reached for the radio sitting on the table bringing it to her lips. “Captain Howell, copy,” she said into the device.

“Go ahead for Howell,” a voice replied over the static.

“Captain we have confirmation that Sergeant Bradford has located the target. Be advised, they are currently in D block.”

“Copy Detective Evers. Team A ready to breach.”

\--

“Tim, someone is coming in,” Art said in a rushed whisper backing away from the door opening.

Tim moved away from Marcus to press against the wall to look outside the pod. “Shit,” he muttered seeing five men making their way into the pod. “Stay away from the door,” he instructed Art, who now hid the best he could behind the bunk beds. Marcus still sat in the cramped space between the metal toilet and the other side of the bed. They were trapped. Trapped and outnumbered.

“Yo Sweeney,” one of the men called, “We know you’re in here. Come on out and save us some trouble.” Tim held his finger to his lip signaling the scared man to stay quiet. “Oh, come on Sweeney. Don’t be like this,” the man continued when no one answered. “We just want to talk.”

Tim eyed Marcus intently trying to get the man to keep quiet. “Go away, Isaac. I don’t do anything,” Marcus yelled in response causing Tim to grimace.

“Shut up. Shut up,” he barked in a harsh whisper towards the man before looking back out the door. He saw the man in the middle motion towards the back pod before the others started towards the pod. “Art, get ready. It looks like we’re going to have to fight our way out of this one,” he told the older man throwing a menacing glare towards Marcus.

\--

“Lieutenant Grey targets acquired. On our way out now,” Howell informed them shortly over the radio.

The group let out a collective sigh of relief, a smile crossing both Grey's and Angela’s faces. Lucy let out the breath she had been holding as they lingered in silence waiting on news. Any news was better than no news.

“He did.”

“Of course, he did. It’s Tim, did we expect anything less,” Angela returned Grey’s statement with a smirk. “Lucy,” she asked as Lucy stepped away from them, out from under the tent. Her eyes steady on the back of the tactical unit in front of them.

It felt like hours as she waited under the sun’s beams before officers dressed in tactical gear started to filter around the vehicle. All wearing bright smiles, offering each other congratulations for a job well done. A few looked her way before refocusing on the other before them.

Lucy waited with bated breaths. She just needed to see him. She needed to see that he was alright for herself, she didn’t want to be told anymore. She needed her own confirmation.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Dark blue scrubs stuck out like a sore thumb in a crowd of officers and deputies in black and tan uniforms. The nerves that pooled in her stomach eased when she sought sight of the trimmed, light brown hair and ocean blue eyes. His eyes locked onto hers through the crowd.

Tim pulled his arm away from the officer that was leading him towards a nearby ambulance, ignoring the calls from the medics as he changed his direction in an instant.

Lucy hadn’t even noticed she took a step in his direction until they were inches away. Her body collided against his, but Tim stood steady. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him. Her face buried his chest as the dam keeping her emotions in broke. The front of his scrub top soaked in her tears as they held each other not caring who was around or who saw. Screw trying to keep their relationship low profile. She did not care anymore.

The tiniest of smiles pulled at the corners of his mouth as he held her. Tim lowered his head so that he could place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. The smell of her conditioner mixed with a little hairspray filled his senses as he drew in a heavy whiff of her hair. His own buried tears forced their way to the surface as he rested on the top of her head.

It was surreal to have her in his arms again. He had longed for this. “I’m right here. It’s okay,” he whispered softly leaning towards her ear until she had calmed down enough to pull away from him. Her makeup was a mess when she pulled back to look at him, yet to him, she never looked more beautiful. He could not stop the smile, bright and wide, from crossing his face as he looked down at her. “Hey,” he said as one of his tears escaped his eye sliding down his cheek. It was not a tear of sadness instead a tear of relief and happiness.

“You are a pain in my ass,” she said softly,

“That’s my job,” he returned, unable to stop another tear from escaping.

One of his hands drifted up to her face, his thumb whipping remnants of tears away from under her eye before tilting her chin up. His chapped, rough lips met her plump, wet ones. It felt like home. Anywhere with her felt like home to him. That fact used to scare him, but over time it just became natural. Wherever Lucy was would be his home. She made his house a home.

They were fire and ice. He was grumpy and she was happy and sweet. Tim lived under cloudy skies until he met her. Her sunshine lit up his world where he could finally see. Lucy wiggled her way into his heart and made a home for herself there.

“I love you,” she whispered breathlessly as they broke away. “Never doubt that.”

“I know,” he replied, his eyes seeing nothing but the truth in hers. “I love you too, never forget that.”


End file.
